Popper to Prince
by Wingd knight
Summary: Han's mother and sister never died in a fire, how will they react to their son and brother being a new Lord and close friend to the Queen?


**It's short but its a setup and it allows me to finishing bookending the New Year! So HAPPY NEW YEARS TO ALL, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! hope you all enjoy this. **

Sali Alister moved about the small room that represented the home of her family. Well, the home of her and her daughter. Her husband had died long ago fighting in the south in an effort to earn the coin they needed and her son, her eldest child, had disappeared and likely died months before. '_Stupid boy.' _She silently thought with grief. '_Run with gangs and die with them.' _He had sworn to her that he had left that life behind, that he was going to be a lawful and good man. Yet when the gang war had ripped its way through Fellsmarch and countless gang members and their associates were butchered and burned he had vanished. Speaker Jemson told her daughter Mari that Han had left because he was being targeted and he wanted to protect his family. Mari thought her brother was being nobel, but Sali knew the truth. The fire that had nearly killed the two of them was because of Han and his cursed life.

'_All I wanted was for my children to live long and happy lives. Is that too much to ask?' _She sighed. Comfort and health might have been out of their reach due to their births and circumstances, but surely reaching adulthood and a love wasn't too much to ask the gods and the old queens for. The widow shook her head. There was no use bemoaning her lost son anymore. He was gone and she still had a daughter she had to take care of as best she could.

A growl and clenching from her stomach told the woman that it had been several hours since she had eaten the small breakfast she had shared with Mari. If she wasn't mistaken it was just about time to retrieve her daughter from Southbridge Temple and the lessons she was attending. So setting aside the laundry she had taken in for washing and some coin the tired woman stood from her stool, slipped on her coat and boots, and made her way out the door. It wasn't too cold, and the sky was clear, but Sali almost always felt a chill except in the hottest and muggiest of weather.

The walk to the Temple was not long in distance, but the time it took her to trudge her way there on her weary legs made her glad that most of the major gangs had been broken up or destroyed. The nights may have become more dangerous in many parts of the city, but those that remained rarely had the craziness or confidence to attack before the darkest parts of night so while the sun was up she was relatively safe. If there was one thing she missed about her son being a gang runner it was the fact that she hadn't had to worry about any thugs going after her or her daughter while they were in Ragmarket.

By the time Sali had made it to Southbridge Temple the evening classes had already let out and most of those who took part in them had left for their homes or the taverns, only Mari, some of the younger students, the Temple acolytes and speakers, and a few of the more studious remained.

Seeing her daughter laughing with two of her young friends brought a smile to Sali's gaunt face. When Han had vanished the day of the fire Mari had been heartbroken, only the words of Jemson assuring her that Han had personally helped set the two of them up at the Temple to heal had kept the young girl from bawling her eyes out for days on end. Her father had already left her, she didn't want her brother to do the same.

'_Damn brat making his sister cry.' _Sali shook her head, finally getting close enough to gently call out to her only remaining child. "Mari its time to go." The washwoman told the young girl.

Turning at the sound of her mother's voice Mari gave her a smile and a nod to show that she had heard her before turning back to her friend, "I'll see you to-"

"What's that?" Another child, a small boy with messy brown hair streaked with dirt and grime, asked loudly, pointing up the Queen's Way road.

It was only then that Sali heard it, the sound of a horse's hooves striking the cobblestone hard and steady, the creaking of wood and wheel almost being drowned out by the rhythmic clacking. A carriage. A somewhat rare thing to hear in Southbridge on days that the Queen wasn't due to spend time in the Temple but that didn't explain the young child's obvious confusion. Turning to face the sound to make sure she was out of the way Sali understood why. The two horses, black fur gleaming in the dying sun, were emaculate and far different from the steads found in the stables under her former home, the wheeled box they pulled was also finely made, a rich brown with delicate paintings and metal accents. It wasn't the Queen's but it was a far nicer example of construction than what she was used to. The only question was, who's was it? And what where they doing in Southbridge during the evening?

Sali pulled her daughter close. Questions and strange happenings rarely if ever spelled good news for those of their standing even less so when the rich were involved.

The small crowd of students and adults fell silent when the ornate carriage halted just shy of their grouping. The driver wasn't telling them to move, and he wasn't urging the steeds to push through them so at the very least they could hope that the lord that was within was not a cruel one. "My Lord, we have arrived at the Temple, as you said many of the young ones are still here." The driver called over his shoulder into the coch completely ignoring the questing looks of Sali and the rest.

At the coachman's words the polished wood of the carriage's door swung open and a figure, a _very familiar _figure, jumped out in a distinctly unlordly fashion.

"Han!" Mari yelled with happiness and excitement tugging herself free of her mother's shocked grip and running with open arms to her brother who didn't hesitate to lift her up in a deep hug.

"It's good to see you Mari." Han laughed spinning the giggling girl around. "Have you been doing well while I've been gone?"

"The book you got me burned in the fire." The girl said sadly, "but mama and I are okay. She even found us a new room to live in that doesn't smell like horses."

Han's smile dimmed but he still nodded in acknowledgment of his sister's news. "I'm glad that you two landed on your feet. And don't worry about the book. I can get you more than you could ever read now."

"And what do you mean by that?" Sali cut in, her shock at seeing her son alive after all this time thinking he was either dead or never coming back finally settling.

The blonde teen turned to face his mother, putting Mari down as he begs to o explain. "To keep things short ma, we're nobility now." He said sheepishly, "if ya want details you'll have to ask Willow, Dancer, or Raisa because things got away from me a long time ago." He admitted with little shame.

'_He's hiding something.'_ Sali thought with a scowl. "Hanson Alister you tell me right now what you have done! And don't think for one second I will believe this nobility nonsense!" She snapped.

Han quirked an eyebrow and gestured to the carriage he had arrived in. "You want proof? Hop in and I'll prove it to ya. Raisa is expecting me anyway."

"Raisa the princess?" Mari asked with awe at the thought of her brother knowing a royal lady.

"Raisa the Queen." Han corrected. "I met her a bit before the fire and have been around her for the last couple months. You'll like her, promise."

"Stop filling her head with false hope Han." Sali snapped. "You don't know the Queen and you are no lord so stop lying."

"He's not lying ma'am." A second, deeper voice called out as another man, older and taller than Han, climbed out of the carriage.

"And who are you?"

"Captain Bryne of the Royal Guard. The Queen asked me to accompany C- Lord Alister while he retrieved you and your daughter." The armored man said gruffly.

Sali noticed his brief slip. He was about to call her son Cuffs. His cursed street name. If this man thought for one second she was going to fall for such a pathetic ruse he was sorely mistak-

"Amon Bryne? Is this really true?" Speaker Jemson asked curiously, speaking as if he knew the fake guardsman.

"Aye sir. Alister was appointed by her Majesty herself and is one of the two representatives of the Clans' interests in court."

That gave Sali pause. She of course knew of her son's close relations with the Clans people of the Fells, but few in the city did as he clearly liked to keep his connections to them secret from his street urchins friends. To hear this man claim so boldly that Han had such a distinct relationship with the mountain people said something.

"I think you should go with them Sali." Jemson whispered to the widow. "Amon is a good and honest man, and I can vouch for the validity of his claimed position. For him to be here and supporting Hanson…"

The washwoman gave a shaky nod of agreement at the holy man's words. It wasn't just her then. Han might be hiding something from them now, but he wasn't lying. Not fully at least. "I have washing to finish at home."

"We can stop on the way if you want. Right after I grab us some meat pies." Han smiled, waving once more to the carriage door.

This time Sali gave a brief nod, and climbed in, closely followed by an excited and hungry Mari, her returned son, and the royal Captain. This has not been what she had expected to happen when she left to get her daughter from her lessons.

**Pretty sure most if not all of my readers have no idea what Seven Realms is, but trust me its a good series. Check it out if you can!**

**One more Happy New Years and Happy Birthday to me!**

**Wingd Knight out**


End file.
